{"id":1814,"date":"2013-08-25T09:00:41","date_gmt":"2013-08-25T14:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1814"},"modified":"2013-08-25T16:38:02","modified_gmt":"2013-08-25T21:38:02","slug":"ministry-transitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1814","title":{"rendered":"Ministry Transitions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Change.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1827\" alt=\"Change\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Change-300x200.jpg\" width=\"264\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Change-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Change.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><\/a>Every day ministry leaders of all denominations face transitions. A transition is a passage or movement from one state, stage or place to another. All transitions involve change. Change is not easy. Even change for the better can be uncomfortable and challenging. Transitions can be important for the overall health of ministry. Social, cultural, political, and spiritual climates change and ministries need to adapt. Ministries should never compromise with the word of God. Christian principles remain the same, but methods and approaches may need to be updated to coincide with changing times and needs. How ministry leaders deal with such transitions says a lot about their Christian maturity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Causes Ministry Transitions?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The ministry wants to go in a different direction.<\/li>\n<li>Someone moves to another area.<\/li>\n<li>Someone takes on additional responsibilities.<\/li>\n<li>Someone retires.<\/li>\n<li>Someone steps down from a leadership role to a support role.<\/li>\n<li>Someone would rather be involved in a different ministry.<\/li>\n<li>Someone is promoted.<\/li>\n<li>Someone is forced out.<\/li>\n<li>Someone burns out.<\/li>\n<li>Approaches need to be updated to accommodate a changing society.<\/li>\n<li>The list is endless.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Transition Involves Discomfort<\/strong><br \/>\nAll transitions, for the good or for the bad, can involve a certain amount of discomfort and sometimes pain. For example, there is a learning curve of growth process for anything new we encounter. Growth can be uncomfortable. If a ministry goes in a different direction, the focus may change. The way we always did things before may have to be adapted and updated. Remember that different is not necessarily bad \u2013 it\u2019s just different and not what we are used to. Sometimes a grieving process takes place. For example if we move to another area we might miss our friends and family. Our new church area may not readily accept us and we yearn for the \u201cgood old days.\u201d We may even develop an unrealistic idea of how much better everything would be if the transition hadn\u2019t taken place. Since the transition may be harder and more challenging than anticipated, we might feel discouraged.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Be Part of a Positive Transition<\/strong><br \/>\nBefore we facilitate a transition in the focus of a ministry, as ministry leaders we should pray about any changes we are thinking of making, get wise counsel, and be sure those over us are in favor of our plans. We should discuss everything thoroughly with our spouse and maybe our children to see how it will impact their lives. Perhaps even incorporate volunteers working in this area of ministry in the planning process. A transition is easier if everyone is on board. If possible institute changes gradually.<\/p>\n<p>If we are moving, retiring, or changing responsibilities then we want to leave a ministry in good order. Try not to leave projects unfinished, bills unpaid, or loose ends dangling. If we have chosen to leave then ministry volunteers may feel abandoned or like it was their fault. Help them work through these issues. If this transition was not one of our choosing, we should not bad mouth those who made the decision. Unchristian like behavior is never appropriate. Always be supportive of predecessors and successors. After all, that\u2019s what we would want if we were in these positions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>How to Cope<a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Change-Just-Ahead.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1830\" alt=\"Change Just Ahead\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Change-Just-Ahead.jpg\" width=\"264\" height=\"293\" \/><\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nPrayer, Bible study, and meditation on God\u2019s Word may sound like clich\u00e9 advice but seeking God is still the key that aids in coping in any situation. The same God who beckoned us to be ministry leaders will guide us through these transitions even though we may need to broaden our ministry perspectives and develop our ministry gifts. Learning more about our ministry rather than thinking we know it all can be helpful. If a change is not a bad thing then embrace it, don\u2019t fight it. Things don\u2019t have to always be done the same way just because that\u2019s the way they\u2019ve always been done. Guard against getting offended if everyone doesn\u2019t get on board immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s better to go slow. After all, it\u2019s easier to increase activities than decrease them once everyone gets used to certain procedures. Realize that transitions take time. It takes time for people to get to know us. It takes time to build a support network. It takes time for people to catch a vision. It\u2019s God\u2019s will that needs to be done, not ours \u2013 and He has all the time in the world to accomplish it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><br \/>\nTransitions are always with us \u2013 in the workplace, at school, in our communities, in society, at home and in ministry. They are everywhere! Perhaps God in His infinite wisdom designed it that way. It creates an environment of learning how to respond, adapt, and change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), but how He manifests himself to people is constantly changing. Let\u2019s not make the mistake of limiting what God can do or how He will choose to do it \u2013 in our lives and in our ministries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every day ministry leaders of all denominations face transitions. A transition is a passage or movement from one state, stage or place to another. All transitions involve change. Change is not easy. Even change for the better can be uncomfortable &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1814\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}